Rahm Emanuel, mayor of the nation's third largest city, blamed an uptick in crime throughout Chicago on police officers' second-guessing themselves before taking enforcement actions.

Emanuel said the city's police force had become "fetal" over fear that any controversial action they take will result in their being accused of criminal conduct.

Chicago has seen a spike in violent crime in 2015 that has coincided with the nationwide rhetorical assault on law enforcement and a spate of protests led by activist groups angered by what they perceive as unfair policing practices.

In September alone, Chicago experienced 60 homicides; the highest one-month total since 2002.

"We have allowed our Police Department to get fetal, and it is having a direct consequence. They have pulled back from the ability to interdict … they don't want to be a news story themselves, they don't want their career ended early, and it's having an impact," said Emanuel while addressing a group of mayors and police officials in Washington, D.C.

The vilification of law enforcement has had an extraordinary effect on proactive policing. Americans in Support of Law Enforcement President Scott G. Erickson discussed the phenomenon in a recent op-ed, which can be read HERE.